Environ Dev Sustain (2012) 14:283–295

DOI 10.1007/s10668-011-9322-8

Analysis of two schemes using micro hydroelectric power

(MHPs) in the Amazon with environmental sustainability
and energy and economic feasibility

Marlus C. Quintas • Claudio J. C. Blanco • André L. Amarante Mesquita

Received: 9 March 2011 / Accepted: 9 August 2011 / Published online: 21 August 2011
Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Abstract A major problem for sustainable development in the Amazon is the difficulty of
supplying electric power to isolated communities, which represent a considerable share of
the population. This problem has been a major obstacle to productive activities (especially
extractive and agricultural) in such communities, thus significantly contributing to rural
drift and creating social problems in larger cities. In that case, one way to supply electric
power would be to use the huge network of small rivers in the region by implementing
Micro Hydroelectric Power Plants (MHPs). However, this type of hydropower project
requires a set of technical assessments in order to obtain better value for its cost-effec-
tiveness from the perspective of sustainable development. Thus, based on a survey of
energy demand and the local hydrological and topographical characteristics, two possible
MHP designs for the hydrological site under analysis were suggested. Assessments of
hydropower, economic and environmental aspects were developed. MHP designs were
compared with the diesel generator design of the community under focus. Comparison
showed that the MHP designs are feasible in terms of energy to meet local demand;
economically, they are more feasible than the diesel generator and are environmentally
sustainable, mainly because such designs involve low-head, run-of-river MHPs and the
flooded areas were simulated and are not larger than 0.02 km2. Therefore, the information

Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication
of this issue.

M. C. Quintas
Post-Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering, PPGEM/ITEC/UFPA, Federal University of Pará,
Rua Augusto Côrrea, 01, Belém, PA 66075-110, Brazil
e-mail: marluscq@yahoo.com.br

C. J. C. Blanco (&)
Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, FAESA/ITEC/UFPA, Federal University of Pará,
Rua Augusto Côrrea, 01, Belém, PA 66075-110, Brazil
e-mail: blanco@ufpa.br

A. L. Amarante Mesquita
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, FEM/ITEC/UFPA, Federal University of Pará,
Rua Augusto Côrrea, 01, Belém, PA 66075-110, Brazil
e-mail: andream@ufpa.br

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provided by these assessments constitutes important data, serving as subsidies for MHP
implementation projects, which shall contribute to sustainable development in the region.

Keywords Isolated communities  MHP  Small environmental impact  Amazon

1 Introduction

The difficulty in meeting the electricity demand of a significant number of small isolated
communities in the Amazon is emerging as a major obstacle to socioeconomic develop-
ment in the region. The consequences of this difficulty bring about direct implications in
productive activities, especially in the process of adding value to natural products, par-
ticularly those in agriculture and extrativism, contributing significantly to rural drift and,
therefore, to increasing social problems in urban areas of municipalities. Due to the geo-
graphical isolation of such rural communities, the option often used as an alternative
source of electric power is the diesel generator. However, in isolated regions in the
Amazon, the cost of fuel is increased due to the difficult distribution logistics, making this
option economically uninteresting. Moreover, from an environmental standpoint, that
option is also unattractive, since diesel fuel is highly polluting and comes from a non-
renewable source of energy. An alternative to contribute to reducing this problem is the
sustainable use of water resources available in the vast network of small rivers in the
Amazon region for the production of electricity by implementing MHPs (Blanco et al.
2008).
The problem of shortage of electric power supply verified in small, isolated rural
communities is not an exclusive problem of the Amazon or Brazil. For instance, other
regions around the world also experience electric power shortages. This fact can be ana-
lyzed in specialized literature (Bassan 2001; Tarkowski and Uliasz-Misiak 2003; Under-
wood et al. 2007; Apergis and Payne 2011; Pereira et al. 2011).
The methodology adopted for this research started by determining power demand,
hydrological and topographical features that supported the hydropower, economic and
environmental analyses for implementing an MHP project in catchment of Marinho creek,
in the community of Água Branca do Cajari, in the municipality of Laranjal do Jari, Amapá
State, Amazon, Brazil (Fig. 1). In this paper, the energy demand analysis is static. The
increasing demand that will occur due to population growth and improvement of life
quality for the population is not considered. In that case, it is necessary to link a model of
growth and improvement of life quality of population in order to simulate the increasing
demand for energy.
It is observed that the small community of Água Branca do Cajari is located in an
extractive reserve (RESEX—Cajari), a fact that significantly restricts the use of natural
resources, even for agriculture purposes. Thus, most residents of Água Branca do Cajari
are almost exclusively extractive workers, gatherers of Brazil nut. In this case, the energy
generated by the MHP can be used in the development of productive activities to add value
to natural products, thus contributing to employment generation, increased income, and
improved life quality for the community and reducing rural drift. This energy can also be
used for domestic needs, such as lighting, digital inclusion, and use of household
appliances.
In the case of the areas in the Amazon where MHPs cannot provide a sustainable access
to electricity; Brazilian law 10,438 of April 26, 2002, established the Incentive Program for
Alternative Sources of Energy—PROINFA (ANEEL 2011). This program aims to increase

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Analysis of two schemes using micro hydroelectric power 285

Fig. 1 Location of the small community

participation in the National Interconnected System, energy produced from alternative

sources such as solar, wind, small hydropower plants, and biomass. Law 10,438 encour-
ages the search for technologies that contribute to access to electricity with lower envi-
ronmental impacts, providing financial resources for this.

2 Energy demand

In small isolated rural systems, the estimation of energy demand is performed on the basis
of the installed capacity, i.e., the maximum demand of energy, taking into account all
energy users working simultaneously. This method is used because the systems do not
meet the demand for 24 h a day, increasing the demand to the maximum whenever the
system is put into operation. Thus, for surveying the energy demands of the community of
Água Branca do Cajari, the ITGD (Document Management and Technological Innovation)
method was used (OLADE 2009), which comprises a greater analysis in terms of energy
consumption during the day. Table 1 shows information on the energy demand of that
population so as to estimate the demand based on the ITGD method. Since no data on the
average power demand of those households are available, data related to the average power
demand for households in rural areas were used, as observed by OLADE (2009), which
complete the third column of Table 1.
Figure 2 shows the water catchment and treatment system and also one of the cassava
flour mills installed in the community.
Not all demands occur simultaneously and, of course, according to the level of poverty
or development, there is no power consumption by local industries or public offices during
the night. This leads one to consider the day time demand and a differentiated night
demand. Two factors are also included: the concurrency factor (fs), i.e., the possibility of a

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Table 1 Daily power demand

Item Amount Power demand
per item for the community of
(kW)
Água Branca do Cajari
Households 90 0.25–0.40
Street lighting 10 0.10
Schools 2 1.00
Health care unit 1 0.50
Government offices 2 0.50
Water collection and treatment system 1 19.0
Brazil nut processing plant 1 1.00
Cassava flour mill 2 1.50

Table 2 Demand analysis by the ITGD method

Type of demand Installed power (kW) Daytime load (kW) Nighttime load (kW)

fs fu fs fu

Domestic 29.25 0.6 0.5 8.8 0.8 0.7 16.4

Institutional 3.5 1.0 1.0 3.5 0.0 0.0 0.0
Lighting 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Industrial 4.0 1.0 1.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Total daytime (kW) 16.3 Total nighttime (kW) 17.4
Total demand ? transmission losses (7.5%) 18.7

number of users simultaneously using electric equipment, ranging between 0 and 1, and
use factor (fu), i.e., intensive use of equipment, also ranging between 0 and 1.
Table 2 shows the type of demand, the installed power, which was raised based on the
data from Table 1, day and night loads, and the community’s total power demand. In the
case of the power demand of households, the average value shown in Table 1, equal to
0.325 kW, was adopted. As for transmission loss, an average value equal to 7.5% was also
adopted. In the case of day and night loads, the demand values are obtained by multiplying
each kind of demand by factors fs and fu, ranging between 0.5 and 0.8. The larger of these
two demands was added to the transmission losses, resulting in the total system demand.
Thus, the community’s electric energy demand, as determined by the ITGD method,
was about 19 kW. This value is equivalent to the power demanded by the water collection
and treatment plant, making this demand to be a mainstream in the design of the hydro-
electric power produced by the MHP. However, it is worth emphasizing that these demands
need not be added because they can and should be met at different times. For example, the
water distribution system reservoir (Fig. 2) can be filled up overnight.

3 Topography

The topographic survey conducted in the watershed of the Marinho creek serves both to
determine whether the area flooded by the MHP weir-small dam and to define the gross head.
The topographic data obtained herein were entered into the Datageosis OfficeÒ commercial
code for the generation of the Digital Terrain Model (DTM). Datageosis OfficeÒ is a software

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Analysis of two schemes using micro hydroelectric power 287

Fig. 2 Water collection, treatment, and supply system (a) and cassava flour mill with the community (b)

for topographic and geodesic calculations (transformation of coordinates), which performs

the calculations and the divisions of areas and altitude variations, the transverse and longi-
tudinal profiles, declivity and flooding maps, contour lines, among others.
For generating the digital terrain model (Fig. 3a), the Datageosis Office topographic
data interpolation tool was used. Bezerra et al. (2011) also used such software in the design
of MHP Irmã Dorothy in Anapú, Pará State, Brazil.
The natural head was estimated at 1 m. In this case, the cross section where the MHP
can be constructed was defined, which is located under a bridge that crosses the Marinho
creek (Fig. 3b). The selection of this section is strategic because the land is already leveled
and construction of the dam would bring a new concrete bridge rather than the current
wooden one, which is in a very poor state of upkeep.

4 Hydropower analysis

To define the MHP of the Marinho creek, two low-head run-of-river schemes were
designed. The first employed one Propeller-type turbine and the second two Propeller-type

Fig. 3 Digital terrain model (a) and bridge over the Marinho creek (b)

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Fig. 4 Schemes 1 (a) and 2 (b)

turbines, aiming at a better use of the inherent seasonality in the Amazon region (Blanco
et al. 2008). These choices are justified, because hydroelectric sites in the Amazon gen-
erally have low head because the relief in the region is not so irregular, in addition to the
fact that those machines are less costly than Kaplan-type, for example, thus reducing the
costs of MHP projects.

4.1 Scheme 1

The first scheme (Fig. 4a) consists of a weir-small dam with a spillway, powerhouse,
where the turbine-generator set (with a speed regulator) is installed, and penstock. In
addition to the natural 1 m head, the site to install the MHP (Fig. 3a) has a narrow passage,
which enables the construction of a 4-m high dam. Therefore, the gross head was con-
sidered to be equal to 5 m.
Thus, by raising energy demand, which revealed an installed power in the community
was about 19 kW, the flow rate Q95% = 0.5 m3/s was selected at the flow duration curve of
the Marinho creek (Fig. 6), allowing for calculating the installed power of scheme 1
through Eq. 1. Usually, a Q95% flow is selected for hydroelectric projects, as it guarantees
steady energy for 95% of annual time operation of the plant. In this case, the plant would
be offline only 18 days of the year, during which the community could be supplied by other
sources, solar, diesel generator, etc.
P¼qggQH ð1Þ
where P(W) is the installed power of the plant; q (kg/m3) is the water density; g (m/s2) is
the gravity acceleration; g (-) is the turbine efficiency (Fig. 5); Q (m3/s) is the design flow;
and H (m) is the gross head. So, given q = 1,000 kg/m3 and g = 9.81 m/s2, we have

Fig. 5 Efficiency curve of the 1.0

20 kW propeller-type turbine
(GR Máquinas 2010) 0.8
η

0.6

0.4

0.2
0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7
3
Q (m /s)

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Analysis of two schemes using micro hydroelectric power 289

Fig. 6 Flow duration curve and 16

15
use of the turbines of Scheme 2 14 Turbine 1
13
12
11 Turbine 2

Q (m3 /s)
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percentage exceeded (%)

P = 19.6 kW and the annual energy generated—E = 163.3 MW. Since the calculated
value of P is greater than the value of the installed power, it is inferred that scheme 1 is
sufficient to meet the power demand analyzed hereby. It can be seen that the pressure drops
in the penstock of a scheme 1 were not considered due to the reduced size of the MHP.

4.2 Scheme 2

This scheme differs from Scheme 1 because it uses two propeller-type turbines in parallel
(Fig. 4b), the gross head is the same. The scheme was designed anticipating a possible
power demand expansion for the community. In this case, the solution would be to take
advantage of the floods of the first half of the year in the region, coinciding with the peak of
local agricultural production and extrativism. The total design flow is defined by adding the
flows of each turbine (Eq. 2).
QT ¼ Q1 þ Q2 ð2Þ
where Q1 and Q2 are, respectively, the flows of turbines 1 and 2, and QT is the total design
flow. In this paper, we have assumed Q1 = Q2 = 0.5 m3/s, resulting in a QT equal to
1.0 m3/s, corresponding to Q50% in the flow duration curve. This flow is maintained for
50% of the time in the Marinho creek, that is, over the first 6 months, which is the flooding
period. After this moment, one of the turbines would be turned off, and the other would
continue to produce energy until the flow rate Q95% is achieved. The two turbines of
Scheme 2 maintain the same basic layout as the turbine in scheme 1, operating at a flow
rate of 0.5 m3/s. Thus, scheme 2 would produce twice as much power as scheme 1 during
the floods and then during the period of average flow rates and drought, it would produce
the same energy as scheme 1.
Whether through scheme 1 or scheme 2, when the flow reaches the value of Q95%, the
MHP will be offline for only 5% of the time or 18 days. During this period, the community
could be supplied by photovoltaic panels or an existing diesel generator in the community.
In that case, the costs would be smaller, but the environmental impacts larger.
Figure 6 shows the flow duration curve of the Marinho creek, simulated for the max-
imum length of the series of rainfall observed in the region, i.e., 4 years (Quintas et al.
2011). The rainfall-runoff hydrological model of Quintas et al. (2011) was applied to the

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Table 3 Cost breakdown (US$) of the MHP schemes

MHP Scheme 1 Scheme 2

Civil works 57,621.62 77,621.62

Turbine—generator speed governor (20 kW) 36,621.43 73,242.86
Penstock 2,070.27 4,140.54
Transport 3,860.88 7,160.88
Incidental expenses (5% of total) 5,008.71 8,108.30
Total (US$) 105,182.91 170,274.20

Table 4 Cost of power generation projects

Power plant MHP Diesel generator

Scheme design 1 2 1 2

CIP (US$) 105,182.91 170,274.20 44,141.52 44,141.52

CI (US$/kW) 5,259.15 4,256.86 490.46 490.46
COM (US$) 5,008.71 8,108.30 35,333.40 212,000.40
CUE (US$/kWh) 0.10 0.08 0.41 0.22

watershed of the Marinho creek (Fig. 1), because like most small watersheds, it had no
flow data and has no rainfall data. For applying the model, a hydrometric station was
installed and data were taken from the nearest rainfall station. Figure 6 also shows how the
two turbines would work in parallel.

5 Economic analysis

In most isolated communities in the Amazon, energy demands are met by diesel genera-
tors, which, from a financial standpoint, have a relatively low cost of installation. However,
this option has a high operating cost due to fuel cost, which is increased by the costs of
transport and logistics (Table 3) in isolated regions in the Amazon. As for the MHPs, they
are the opposite of the diesel generators, as they have a higher cost per kW installed and
lower operating costs (Penche and ESHA 2004).
The investment cost for MHP projects considered in this paper is the sum of the costs of
building the weir/small dam, power house, and penstock (Fig. 4) plus transport costs
(Table 3). O&M costs (Table 4) were considered equal to 5% of the total investment cost
(ELETROBRAS 2000). For the cost of facilities and distribution of electricity, these were
considered insignificant due to the small size of the community, which has only 90 houses.
With an estimate of five people for each house, this would mean a population of
approximately 450 people. Table 3 shows the breakdown of the costs of schemes 1 and 2
for the Marinho creek MHP. The total amount corresponds to the investment cost for each
project.
Also, the investment cost for the 90 kW diesel generator (motor, generator, and speed
governor) of the local power plant (US$ 37,567.56) was quoted. The generator and
transportation costs (US$ 6,573.96) were provided by the company HP Norte Motores e

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Analysis of two schemes using micro hydroelectric power 291

Equipamentos (HP Norte Motores e Equipamentos 2010). In this case, the state govern-
ment provides a monthly allowance of 2,300 liters of diesel oil, totaling 27,600 liters per
year. Two schemes were considered for using the diesel generator. In Scheme 1, which is
the reality of that community, the diesel generator works four hours a day throughout the
year with the annual diesel allowance, and Scheme 2 whereby the diesel generator would
work 24 h a day. The operating costs were calculated, considering the price of a liter of
diesel fuel at US$ 1.25. The price was collected from the market in the State of Amapá.
Maintenance costs were provided by the local electric company (CEA 2009).
Table 4 presents the investment and O&M costs for the Diesel schemes. The table also
shows the cost of installing each hydroelectric project, CI (Eq. 3), per kilowatt produced,
in addition to the unit cost of energy, CUE (Eq. 4). This cost can be calculated based on the
present value (depreciation) of an annual rate calculated on project costs and O&M.
CIP
CI ¼ ð3Þ
P
CIP þ COM
CUE ¼ ð4Þ
an  t  P
where CUE is the unit cost of energy (US$/kWh); CIP is the investment cost of the project
(US$); COM is the cost of O&M (US$); an is the discount factor (-); t is the operating
time (h); and P is the power (kW).
By applying Eqs. 3 and 4 to the power generation schemes, one can evaluate them from
an economic standpoint, considering an = 6.566 for a project lifetime equal to 30 years
and a discount rate of 15% (Blanco et al. 2008). This constant value for the discount rate is
based on a criterion established by Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency—ANEEL,
where a minimum real interest rate of 12% per year is fixed for economical viability
studies. This value is also the minimum return required by World Bank to finance projects
for power generation in countries under development. It is reasonable to assume that risk-
taking, for periods of 30 years, will require an additional fee of about 30%, implying a real
interest rate of 15% per year, the rate adopted in this work.
Based on Table 4, it can be seen that the costs of installing of two MHP schemes are
close to those observed by Khennas and Barnett (2000), Blanco et al. (2008), Bezerra et al.
(2011). The MHP schemes have unit costs of energy well below the CUE for the Diesel
schemes and at least half the cost with the generator operating 100% of the time. There-
fore, from the economic viewpoint, the MHP schemes appear as the best options for the
community of Água Branca do Cajari because they ensure meeting 100% due of the
production needs during the entire year.

6 Environmental analysis

The most common physical impact is the reduction in the river current, generating a
change in the dynamics of the aquatic environment. That also leads to a change in water
temperature, which tends to divide the reservoir into two environments: the reservoir bed
(where the temperature is lower) and the reservoir surface (where the temperature is
higher). This difference in temperature, called thermal stratification, means that there will
be little mixing in the water of that impounded environment, thus creating a difference of
dissolved oxygen between the surface and the bottom of the reservoir. This is the main
chemical impact, i.e., differentiating the quality of the surface water from the water at the

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bottom of the reservoir and leading to biological impacts due to the re-adaptation inherent
to the biota of the obstructed river. Other biological impacts are related to the physical
barrier promoted by the dam. Such impacts generate an isolation factor for the aquatic
populations and species which used to live together. They also thwart or impair the
migration of some fish species and also modify the river dynamics as well as the quality of
the water, thereby affecting the region both upstream and downstream from the dam
(Trussart et al. 2002). The impaired spawning of the migratory fish causes these species to
disappear and a reduction in the habitat of various species. This impact can be minimized
with the construction of fish ladder. However, this cost is difficult to estimate, since, in the
Amazon, there is no known MHP project that involves a fish ladder.
The drying out of some lakes due to a reduction in water volume downstream from the
dam causes important breeding grounds to be destroyed and a reduction in the aquatic
plants that provide food and shelter to some species. Upstream from the dam, the scenario
is the opposite. Due to excess in nutrients, uncontrolled spread of macrophytes occurs,
increasing food supply but reducing light penetration and water aeration. The above-
mentioned impacts reduce water quality and increase the incidence of diseases, which are
regarded as socioeconomic impacts. Other socioeconomic impacts are caused by a possible
moving of native populations and destruction of the environment due to the area being
flooded by the project.
In the case of the low-head MHPs for supplying power to remote communities, the
socioeconomic impacts are negligible or inexistent as the flooded area is greatly reduced
due to the smaller size and type of the plant, which is a run-of-river power station. Power
plants of that type do not require a regulating reservoir to operate, thus minimizing the said
population moving and destruction of the environment. Nonetheless, biological, physical,
and chemical impacts are likely, however, due to the size of the power plant, such impacts
are likely to occur at a smaller scale (Paish 2002).
Nevertheless, in an attempt to prove the assumption of a small flooded area, this paper
presents a method for determining the flooded areas using the DataGeosisÒ software,
which uses as input data: water levels generated by the small weir-dam, retention flows
related to these levels, and digital terrain model (Fig. 3a).

6.1 Simulation of the flooded areas

For Scheme 1, it was considered the design flow Q95%; for Scheme 2, the design flow Q50%
was considered, in addition, was selected also the flow Q0.3%, which corresponds to the
maximum flood. Once the duration flows were selected (Fig. 6), the stage-discharge curve
(Fig. 7) was used for determining the water levels of each of the selected flows. These level
values are added to the 5-m head values provided by the dam, resulting in water levels that
serve as input data for DataGeosisÒ. Figure 8 shows the natural bed of the creek and
flooded areas to Q95%, Q50%, and maximum flood.
Table 5 shows that for the maximum flood of the Marinho creek, the area flooded by the
MHP, in schemes 1 and 2, is approximately 16,757 m2 or 0.0167 km2. Bezerra et al. 2011
presented inundation areas of the same order of magnitude for a MHP with a power of
50 kW. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the maximum flood is an event of rare occur-
rence, with a probability of less than 0.5% of incidence. Therefore, the result obtained by
the environmental analysis shows that the area flooded by the MHP is very small, espe-
cially when compared with the positive socioeconomic return that this type of project can
bring to the community.

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Analysis of two schemes using micro hydroelectric power 293

Fig. 7 Stage-discharge curve for 16

the Marinho creek (Quintas et al.
2011) 14 Qmeasured
12

10

Q (m /s)
3
8

0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
h (m)

Fig. 8 Natural creek bed and flooded areas for schemes 1 and 2. a The natural creek bed, b Flooded area
for Q95%, c Flooded area for Q50%, d Flooded area for maximum flood

7 Conclusion

The power demand existing in the community presented in this paper was shown to be a
basic parameter in decision-making, regarding what methodologies for implementing

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Table 5 Flooded areas

Flow Area with Area without Flooded
(m3/s) dam (m2) dam (m2) area (m2)

Q95% 0.50 8,588 3,002 5,586

Q50% 1.30 13,997 3,680 10,317
Qmax 14.8 21,659 4,902 16,757

MHPs must be followed to ensure the best use of the water resources available. Once the
demand for power was determined, it was possible to guide decisions regarding the use of
the hydraulic potential of the small river by proposing MHP schemes and other aspects
associated with each scheme such as: installed power, annual energy generation, design-
related costs, and environmental analysis.
From the estimate of installed power and annual electricity generation, it was observed
that the two MHP proposals may contribute significantly to meet the energy demand of the
community, both for domestic and productive use. The costs for this type of business were
also estimated, with results showing an important comparison between the MHP schemes
proposed herein and the option of generating electricity via the existing diesel generator,
highlighting significant economic advantages in relation to the MHPs over Diesel gener-
ators, in addition to the environmental advantage, since burning diesel fuel emits polluting
fumes, and this fuel is extracted from a non-renewable energy source. The environmental
advantage is even more consolidated by the simulation of the flooded areas for the MHP
schemes, noting that the areas are smaller than 0.02 km2, thus having minimized envi-
ronmental impacts.
This information is an important methodology, which aims to support the decisions
inherent to the MHP projects in the Amazon, aiming at a solution to the shortage of energy
and, therefore, the sustainable development of small isolated communities in the region.

Acknowledgments We would like to thank the CNPq–National Council for Scientific and Technological
Development for the financial support of this work by means of the master’s degree, process no.
135590/2008-6.

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